Friday, October 17, 2008

...haven’t been to the Castle for at least 10 years (probably more)... In my day, where the stage is now, drugs often exchanged hands over a game of pool, while Hendrix was constantly stuck in a magickal state of deja-vu. Now those days are gone, along with the Pachouli soaked goth-ettes and the prescription switched to a healthy dose of improv action from 'merge in movement'...

Must be the first lead bass act I’ve ever seen (apart from Rothko in their bass cubed days) …everything’s all angle-poised , pulling together in fits and starts, wrapped in slick imploding signatures and avant-slap bass, yes that’s slap bass... or more like spannered. I'm guessing the vibe is different every time they play, but tonight they're coming across like a diffused Die Haut (with the addition of yelling) , everything seemingly echoed, bounced off each other in mini 'mind flares' wrapped in brittle pasta twists... The last number was a real bender - full on howling monkey vox, verse feedback smirk-a-thon - spiky and thoroughly satisfying.